We are thinking of taking the family to Disneyworld the day after Christmas for 5 days. How bad will the crowds be? We were there during Thanksgiving week last year and it was crowded but not too bad.

If you are talking about the week between Christmas and New Years, it will be the busiest week of the year!

The crowds will be huge but if you time it right start early am, take a break early afternoon and come back at night you should optimize your time there.

On a side note there are TONS of outlets for shopping and I'll bet the sales after Christmas there will be HUGE. I'd go for that alone, lol.

It will be jammed. Several of the parks usually end up closing their gates to new admissions in the afternoon as some point during that week. That's how crowded it gets. Crowds were somewhat smaller than usual last Thanksgiving due to the economic conditions at that time. I'd guess they'll be back to normal or nearly normal this Christmas.

Our family has visited WDW many times, but last year was our first after Christmas (12/26 – 12/30) due to school and work schedules. While we did overall enjoy ourselves a few observations:
- You must get there at opening of the park
- Work the Fast Pass to maximum benefit. This is the key along with arriving early
- MGM was an absolute zoo even getting there early. Probably the only park I would skip next time at Xmas. Too compact and not enough attractions for the crowds. Rock and Roll Roller Coaster 140 minutes just after noon. We did the fast pass once then the single line twice on Rock & Roll coaster. So packed it was hard to even walk around the Osborne Xmas light display at night.
- Animal Kingdom second most busy, but doable with an early start (7 AM arrival). Rode all major attractions and shows at Animal Kingdom before 2 PM (Everest four times).
- MK and Epcot we got there at opening and had ridden all major attractions at least once before 1 PM. Soaring three times and even all the Fantasyworld rides at MK. Our boys are teens now, but had to do Peter Pan and Dumbo for nostalgia.
- We stayed at World Dolphin (excellent AAA rates that week considering) getting back around 3 PM each day. Rested, swam, and/or worked out then walked over to Epcot or Boardwalk to tour around and get something to eat. At night went to either Osborne lights, Spectromagic, or Illuminations. Nice thing about the Dolphin (and other Epcot hotels) is walk to Epcot and MGM and get out easy after the night shows.
- If dining in the parks make sure you make at least dinner reservations well in advance.
Decorations were nice, weather great (not too hot), but don’t know I’d do it again. Teen boys (nor me) like getting up @ 5:45 on vacation. The crowds make the experience a bit too stressful.

Thanks for the great replies. I think we are going to pass on the trip and try for another time. I have little ones and we were spoiled in April at Disneyland. Small crowds and you could ride everything you wanted by 11:00 am with very little wait. I was told it was the off-season and we had a great time. I am afraid that Disneyworld at X-mas may be too frustrating.